at yankee stadium. the question is how is a-rod feeling about joe girardi's decision to pull him back to the dugout with the game on the line? it's way too early for this. >> good morning, i'm willie geist. i'm glad you're up with us this morning on watching on msnbc or listening live on sirius/xm radio. you can e-mail me or tweet me. let me know what you're doing up at this hour. or you can text the word awake followed by your response to 662629. the next 30 minutes, of course, will be the cram session for this thursday, october 11th. a lot to tell you about including another massachusetts senate debate between elizabeth warren and scott brown as that race remains tight in the bay state. plus, john stewart on the media

obsession with polls. we'll show that you clip a little bit later in the show. first, let's get to the news live at 5:30 a.m. here at 30 rock in new york city and in john stewart's honor we begin with polls. new numbers released just moments ago for likely voters in three critical swing states n ohio, an nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows president obama hanging on to a lead, 51-45. down in florida, it was a one point race before the debate. this morning, still a one-point lead for president obama within the margin of error. they are tied in the state of florida. in virginia is where the republican candidate is seeing some of the biggest gains. they are now in a virtual tie. romney has edged ahead of the president 48-47. that's a three point reversal from a week ago. again though, within the margin of error. they are tied in virginia as well. another battleground poll out today points to a very tight

race. according to "new york times"/cbs news poll, mitt romney leads the president by one point in colorado. tight across the country. last month the president up one point in that state n virginia, president obama's lead from last month grew slightly. in wisconsin, the candidates also within the margin of error after the president lost the point from last month and mitt romney gained two. again this is all within the margin of error. a day after mitt romney, meanwhile, told the des moines register he would not pursue any abortion related legislation as president, mr. romney looked to clarify that position while campaigning in ohio. there he told reporters he would take action from the white house to reduce the number of abortions in the country. >> i think i said time and again i'm a pro-life candidate. i'll be a pro-life president. the actions i'll take immediately are to remove funding for planned parenthood. >> remove funding for planned parenthood. he said he would ban taxpayer

funding for groups that perform abortions overseas. in an interview with abc news, president obama yesterday fired back on that, suggesting his opponent was not being straight forward with voters on that issue. >> this is another example of governor romney hiding positions he's been campaigning on for a year and a half. governor romney made very clear that if a bill comes to his desk that overturns roe versus wade that he will be fully supportive of that. and he said i will piappoint justices that will overturn roe versus wade. now four weeks before an election, he is trying to cloud the question when it comes to women's rights to control their own health care decisions. >> the president also was asked in that interview by diane sawyer about his performance in last week's performance in denver. he said the issues of the election are still in his favor.

>> that debate, what happened? >> well, governor romney had a good night. i had a bad night. >> how bad? >> well, it's not the first time i've had a bad night. but i think what's important is that the fundamentals of what this race is about haven't changed. governor romney went through a lot of trouble to try to hide what his positions are because he knows that those ideas have been rejected. they won't work. and if you make an honest presentation about what he's proposed, he will lose. the american people are not going to go back there. >> tonight though belongs to the running mates. joe biden will face off gong congressman paul ryan making his debut on a national debate stage. the vice president, of course, has more experience. polling shows his opponent has the advantage of popularity. a new poll shows a majority of voters view the vice president unfavorably. the congressman ryan, 40% view him unfavorably, 44% view him

favorably. polls show expectations for vice president biden's performance in kentucky fairly low, perhaps an advantage for him, 40% say they expect congressman ryan will do a better job in the debate. 34% for mr. biden. as for the moderator, abc news insists there will be no conflict of interest. they revealed that barack obama attended her wedding in 1999 when a student at harvard law school. the man she married was later the head of the fcc by president obama in 2009. that is 12 years after raddatz divorced him. this is absurd, martha raddatz is known for her tough, fair reporting which is why it was no surprise to her colleagues inside and outside abc news she was chosen for this assignment. congressman ryan arrived in danville early last night. vice president biden spent last

night in delaware. he'll arrive in kentucky later today. speaking of debates, last night was round three in that closely contested u.s. senate race up in massachusetts. republican senator scott brown, democratic challenger elizabeth warren facing off in springfield, mass, as two new polls are split on which candidates as the advantage there. unlike the first two debates, last night there was no mention for elizabeth warren made of american heritage but plenty of jousting on policy issues like job creation, taxes, and which candidate sticks up for the middle class. >> the one thing you can't be doing now in the middle of this 3 1/2 year recession is taking more money out of people's hard-working pocketbooks and wallets and giving it to the federal government. they're like pigs in a trough up there. they take and take and take. >> this has been pretty much my life's work is talking about what is happening to america's middle class. let's face it, america's middle class is just getting hammered.

republicans have a vision, cut taxes for those at the top and let the chips fall where they may for everybody else. >> when you talk about getting hammered, i suggest you put down the hammer. because it's your regulations and your policies that are going to be hurting -- >> the fourth and final debate between warren and brown scheduled for october 30th, one week before voters in massachusetts go to the polls. the deaths of four americans in the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, september 11, sparked political bickering during hearings on capitol hill. security officials charged with protecting the compound testified that requests to keep an american military team in libya were denied and that protection was cut in the weeks leading up to the deadly assault. >> we were fighting a losing battle. we couldn't even keep what we had. we weren't allowed to keep what we had. >> it was abundantly clear we were not going to get resources until the aftermath of an

incident. >> state department officials have said keeping the team on site likely would not have changed outcome in the attack because the team was based in tripoli. republican lawmakers on the panel accused the state department of failing to protect the consulate while democrats accused republicans of cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from embassy security financing in recent years. the obama administration's handling of the incident has been called into question after it was revealed that there had not been a protest outside the consulate directly contradicting accounts provided by ambassador susan rice in the days following the attack based on the information she had at the time. now to business, standard & poors lowered the credit rating on spain. now just barely above the level of junk status. the agency also warned of more potential cuts ahead if the country fails to take the proper steps to slow its economic slide. let's get more on the story now from karen cho. good morning. >> good morning. the folk us is back on spain's

funding costs and ability to tap the market. we saw the downgrade above negative market. some of the losses have been trimmed. spain is still tracking low. it was down about 1%. now off about .1%. the reason why you're seeing such a recovery so quickly is because this is just closing the gap between s & p's rating and moody's rating. moody's is sitting at the equivalent of a-3. quet the question is if they cut spain to junk status. we do have the ecb, there is a backstop on bond buying program. and they made a commitment that they stand ready to help out spain if it makes a formal request. that is the key whether spain is going to turn around and say it does need the help from the ecb. you know, borrowing costs to day, corporates in spain, that's gone up along with the actual yield on spanish sovereign debt.

back to you. >> amazing story. karen tso, thank you so much. still ahead this morning on "way too early," the as find a way with the season on the line in the ninth inning, the team that came back from 13 games down to win the division comes back again. play-off highlights and incredible highlights ahead in sports. plus, stephen colbert turns to the 7-eleven poll. which giant cup is selling better there, the obama one or the romney one? that clip and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back. >> on several occasions thomas told me of his own sexual prowess. because i was extremely uncomfortable talking about sex with him at all, i told him that i did not want to talk about these subjects.

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5:43 in the morning as we look at a beautiful live picture from the top of our building here at rockefeller center looking south. battery park city. let's get a check of your weather from bill karins. good morning. >> cold air but clear skies. it's going to be a nice fall afternoon. chilly start to everyone's morning out there. the cold front cleared the east coast along it with, a lot of the rain and showers. we have clear skies from chicago all the way down through the southeast. expect a lot of sunshine today. umbrellas going to be left at home. it's cold. wind chills in the 20s this morning around detroit, chicago, all of michigan, down to pittsburgh, even on the east coast. the big cities are a little warmer. in the suburbs, there is a chill in the air. later this afternoon, thankfully the october sun is still strong. moving up there about 60 degrees in many areas. so no problems there. airports look great today.

no issues whatsoever. middle of the country, you're dry today. the only troublesome weather in the west where we could see a few showers and storms. otherwise, it looks pretty nice. by tomorrow, we should see a warmup beginning across the country. with it, some moisture heading to the middle of the nation. so pretty nice forecast on this thursday. anything happen at yankees stadium? >> i'm so glad you asked, bill karins. after splitting the first two games of the alds in baltimore, the yankees and orioles picked up right where they left off with a heart stopper in the bronxes. you need look no further than the back pages of the new york papers this morning. a-rod by not playing in the ninth inning was the story. pick it up in the third inning. more on a-rod in just a moment. yankees down a run. derek jeter connects on a deep flyball. adam jones just misplays that thing. russell comes in. that tied the game at one. same score in the fifth. the kid, how good is this guy manny machado.

drills the first pitch over the fence into the orioles bull pen. that gives the os the lead. now bottom of the ninth. yankees still down a run. one out. a-rod is due up. but his 1-12 seven strikeout start to the postseason convinces joe girardi to go to his bench and call on raul ibanez. they bench a-rod and bring in ibanez. joe girardi looks like a genius hammering the first pitch into the seats. that ties the game at two. now extra innings. ibanez again, still tied at two. comes to the mound with a chance to be the hero again. >> can he do it again? he did!

unbelievable! >> to his credit, a-rod was the first guy in the top set greeting ibanez. raul ibanez hitting in place of alex rodriguez gives the yankees the walkoff 3-2 win. they take a lead now. ibanez saw all of two pitches in the game and hit them both out of the yard. the orioles have to regroup after suffering the first walkoff loss of the season, if can you believe that. after the game, joe girardi talked about his decision to sit a-rod in favor of ibanez. >> i just had a gut feeling. i talked about it in the pregame about being a great pinch hitter and you got a left-handed hitter who is a low ball hitter in a sense, you have a low ball pitcher. and i just kind of had a gut feeling. >> a little bit of bad news for the yankees. derek jeter left the game after fouling a ball off his foot in the third. he says he will be back in the lineup tonight for game four at the stadium when the yankees can clinch this thing. on the other side, the american league bracket, incredible game in oakland late last night.

as facing elimination for the second straight night. as down 3-1. three outs away from seeing the season end. seth smith with a couple guys aboard delivers. base hit into right center. two runs will score. smith pulls into second. the as pull even now. two outs later, smith still on second. coco crisp, great catch two nights ago. he would hit last night. right fielder can't pick it up cleanly. i'm not sure it would have made a difference. the winning run comes around to score. the as had 14 walkoff wins in the regular season. that led the majors. add one more in the postseason. they win 4-3 forcing a decisive game five tonight in oakland. over in the national league, giants facing a winner go home against the reds in cincinnati. leading off for the giants, the second pitch of the game out of the yard for the first leadoff home run in postseason history. second inning, game tied at one.

blanco hits a two-run shot. that puts the giants back on top. they never game that back. the giants offense comes alive. they beat the reds 8-3. no team has ever come back from an 0-2 deficit by winning three game on the road. the giants have a chance to do it tonight. the reds still have not won a play-off game, a home play-off game in 17 years. nats hosting the cardinals in game three. second inning, cardinals up one. edwin jackson for a three run home run. cardinals win 8-0. st. louis leads that series 2-1. they can put the nats away today. all eight teams on the field. giants and reds play game five at 1:00 eastern time today. followed by the nats and cards at 4:00. yankees and close it out against the os and tigers and as all or nothing for those two teams in oakland tonight. well in cycling, the legacy of lance armstrong took another substantial hit yesterday. the u.s. anti-doping agency

released 1,000 pages of what it called overwhelming evidence against armstrong and his former cycling team regarding doping charges. 11 of armstrong's former teammates testified against him claiming armstrong not only participated himself in doping but demanded his teammates follow his lead or leave the team. ceo of the u.s. anti-doping agency said of armstrong's team, the u.s. postal service pro cycling team, including lance armstrong, ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program we have ever seen." armstrong has been stripped of his seven tour de france titles and band from professional cycling for life. coming up, debate night in kentucky. vice president biden and romney running mate paul ryan head-to-head. plus, a wave of new swing state polls all within the margin of error. we'll knock it around with our "morning joe" crew. when we come back, we'll huddle around the water cooler to watch john stewart take on the media

obsession with polls, like the one i just told you we'll be obsessing over at the top of the hour. "way too early" coming right back. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. yeah. yeah. then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate safe driving bonus check? what is that? so weird, right? my agent, tom, said... [ voice of dennis ] ...only allstate sends you a bonus check for every six months you're accident-free... ...but i'm a woman. maybe it's a misprint. does it look like a misprint? ok. what i was trying... [ voice of dennis ] silence. ♪ ask an allstate agent about the safe driving bonus check. are you in good hands?

we told you at the top of the show that vice president joe biden will face off tonight with congressman paul ryan in their first and only vice-presidential debate and there will be an obvious generation gap up on

that stage. if you want to sound smart, tell your friend that 27-year age gap between 69-year-old joe biden and 42-year-old paul ryan is the largest in the history of vice-presidential debates. senator lloyd benson was 25 years old than eventual vice president dan quayle when the two of them got together in that famous debate of 1988. all right. enough of the real news. let's huddle up around the water cooler to watch "the daily show" analyze the fixation with political polls we're all to blame. >> how the hell are the polls so useless yet accurate and quotable? i think we all know what we need. in other words! >> so when you see obama gaining in today's poll that, means obama's interviews yesterday were even better than those from seven days ago which were conducted before the debate. >> he went from thr ahead in the seven day track yesterday to five ahead in their track today. >> the next round of swing state polls from nbc shows the swing

states tied. then democrats really will be appropriate for them to panic. >> all right. those are our guys. good men all. the one poll you want to focus on though, he cuts to the core of all this is the 7-eleven poll. let him explain. >> folks, this race is as tight as mitt's smile when he meets a poor person. unfortunately, unfortunately, folks, there's still one poll out there that gives obama a chance. seven he leven stores are giving voice to the people by offering a choice of coffee cups in obama blue or romney red. >> yes! in 7-eleven's cup poll right now obama is up by 20 points. folks, wait a second. are we sure they're not using 4-year-old data? i'm pretty sure they're using

4-year-old hotdogs. folks, we must require voter id before anyone can buy a cup of joe. i'm sure 7-eleven will be just as rigorous about checking id for cups as they are for beer and cigarettes. >> i like those 4-year-old hotdogs. one note for you. you may have seen or heard i'll be posting the 9:00 hour of the "today" show. it's true. i'm going to continue though doing the first hour of "morning joe" every day before running across the street. but i'm afraid the new gig means i'll have to give up this one. as painful as that is for me after spending 3 1/2 years for you wiping the sleep out of our eyes together every morning. or in the case of our notorious 2:30 a.m. west coast audience, wiping the bong water off the table in the den as you pass out watching me talk about likely voters in ohio. i'll be here with you on "way too early" until the monday after election day. the show will live on, i'm happy to say. beginning that morning it will be with a new host or hosts.

we don't know what the long term plan is yet. i imagine my friends joe, mika and barnicle will pitch in. i have a bunch of shows left. feels like a good time to tell you how sincerely grateful i am to share this ungodly hour with all of you every day. we'll be right back with your tweets, texts, and e-mails. [ female announcer ] what's a powerful way to cut through everyday greasy messes? [ male announcer ] sponges take your mark. ♪ [ female announcer ] one drop of ultra dawn has twice the everyday grease cleaning ingredients of one drop of the leading non-concentrated brand... ♪ [ crowd cheering ] ...to clean 2x more greasy dishes. dawn does more. so it's not a chore. ♪ na, na-na, na [ men ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ goodbye [ flushing ]

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